Now Commenting On:

Ellis in clubhouse for first time since surgery

Ellis in clubhouse for first time since surgery

LOS ANGELES -- Disabled Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis Sunday made his first appearance in the clubhouse since injuring his left leg nine days ago. He was walking with a limp but without crutches.

Ellis had emergency surgery last Saturday to relieve swelling pressure in the leg and also suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and a bone bruise below the knee from a take-out slide by St. Louis' Tyler Greene.

"When I got hit I thought my leg was broken," said Ellis, who initially was relieved to hear that X-rays were negative, only to be unable to sleep that night because of intense pain. "The next day the leg was hard and didn't feel right, way more pain than there should have been for a take-out slide."

He was taken to a hospital for an MRI, but in the emergency room it was determined that a muscle had been cut, causing bleeding that was trapped by the muscle sheath. Doctors who performed the emergency surgery said he could have lost the leg without it.

"I read that, but never realized it was that bad," he said. "The surgery was something that just had to be done."

Ellis said still unresolved is a slight cartilage tear in the knee. He said even if arthroscopic surgery is performed, it would not seriously lengthen the recovery period that currently is estimated at two months. He has an 8-inch incision down the outside of his leg that is taped and must heal completely, along with the deep bruise.